PCToday continues its regular feature – welcoming new full-time and regular part-time Pennsylvania College of Technology employees, as reported by the Human Resources Office.
Presidential Student Ambassador Rudy C. Shadle, a construction management student from Mechanicsburg, stands ready to answer questions on the campus mall.Robert K. Vlacich (in khaki pants), assistant professor of automotive service, offers insights inside the Parkes Automotive Technology Center.Outside the entrance to Le Jeune Chef Restaurant, Todd M. Keeley, assistant professor of baking and pastry arts/culinary, presents a “picture” of what visitors will see inside the labs.Stopping to smell the tulips in between her busy day of welcoming guests is Presidential Student Ambassador Danielle R. Wesneski, a 2019 baking and pastry arts graduate who will earn her bachelor’s degree in applied management next month.Although students couldn’t be on hand due to attendance limitations, video interviews with radiography alumni gave voice to their campus experience.
The first of this month’s three Spring Visit Days was held Saturday, giving prospective students a comprehensive peek at Penn College while adhering to pandemic-imposed limitations on attendance. (The Admissions Office will host additional visitation events on Saturday and Sunday, April 24-25.) Attendees began their day with check-in and a presentation in the Klump Academic Center, followed by lab tours in selected academic areas. Optional activities added to participants’ feel for the breadth of life on the vibrant and verdant campus: housing, financial aid, tutoring and other academic support, athletics, placement testing, advisement and scheduling, student organizations, disability services, veterans benefits and dining options. More information about visiting campus is available by contacting Admissions.
As the academic year draws to a close, a fitting opportunity for the Penn College community to catch its collective breath after a tempestuous 2020-21, the Student Government Association recaps its monthly student and faculty/staff honorees.
Penn College and UPMC Susquehanna partnered to offer a by-appointment COVID-19 vaccination clinic in the Field House on Friday, administering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to hundreds of students, faculty and staff. (Recipients were automatically registered to receive the other half of the two-dose regimen on May 7.)
The 2020-21 Student Leadership & Involvement Awards, held virtually by the Office of Student Engagement for the second year, were presented Wednesday evening to a deserving lineup of campus notables.
“There have certainly been some challenging circumstances presented to all our student organizations and student leaders during the past year,” said Trisha M. Temple, coordinator of student engagement. “They have been asked to shift the format of meetings, find creative ways to recruit new members while engaging with current members, and reimaging how to safely plan and host events on campus. It hasn’t always been easy, but the students have been adaptable, forward-thinking, committed and truly willing to put in the extra work. Even a worldwide pandemic couldn’t slow our Wildcats down!”
Those who assume responsibility for cleaning up the commonwealth’s roads under the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Adopt-a-Highway program – and more than 3,500 volunteers have signed on for stewardship of nearly 8,000 miles to date – generally have their commendable hands full tending to litter pickup alone. Penn College General Services, which keeps the entire institution humming and beautiful year-round, obviously didn’t stop there in its first official roadside foray. (The college contracted last year to adopt the Interstate 180 on/off ramps south of campus, but the state suspended the program in Spring 2020 when many counties were under stay-at-home orders.) The “all hands on deck” work detail was initiated by Timothy M. Weigle, associate director of maintenance, and a large group of tool-wielding co-workers, equipped by PennDOT with safety vests and trash bags, made quick work of enhancing the neighborhood.
A Pennsylvania College of Technology student organization’s video about a viable do-it-yourself alternative to traditional concrete – with humor among its key ingredients – was a Top 20 finisher in a recent competition sponsored by an industry trade group.
Three members of the college’s ConCreate Design Club, a student chapter of the American Concrete Institute, produced and co-starred in the seven-minute video, which was entered in ACI’s Concrete Solutions Competition. Participating were Madison L. Kistler, of Kutztown, club president; vice president Harrison H. Wohlfarth, of Midlothian, Virginia; and Noah W. Shafer, of Towanda, a member of the club’s board of directors.
Jeanne M. Kerschner, director of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s occupational therapy assistant program, was appointed to the Roster of Accreditation Evaluators of the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education.
Accreditation evaluators evaluate the compliance of more than 500 occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant educational programs with ACOTE accreditation standards through on-site evaluations and online reviews. Their work provides ACOTE with the necessary information to make accreditation decisions, and helps to ensure the competency of future occupational therapy practitioners.
PCToday continues its regular feature – welcoming new full-time and regular part-time Pennsylvania College of Technology employees, as reported by the Human Resources Office.
The Penn College contingent tends vegetable plots at the community garden.
Five students and Penn College’s coordinator of student engagement traveled to the Williamsport Red Shield Community Garden this past weekend for the latest “(community) Service Saturday” event.
Joining Office of Student Engagement staff member Trisha M. Temple (who also provided the photo) were Dean R. Fulton, of Palmyra, enrolled in business administration: marketing concentration; Diana M. Gaglione, of Scranton, building science and sustainable design: architectural technology concentration; Alicia Martinez, Allentown, aviation maintenance technology; Skylar J. Merrick, of Mansfield, pre-radiography; and Sophia G. Wiest, of Butler, entrepreneurial innovation.
Four members of the ConCreate Design Club joined instructor Harry W. Hintz Jr. at the Lycoming County Veterans Memorial Park this week, installing paving bricks engraved with the names of Penn College students and faculty who have worked on the project over the past three years. The group rendezvoused at the West Fourth Street/Wahoo Drive site with John O. Markley, of the Veterans Memorial Park Commission, who oversaw the latest enhancement to the ever-expanding memorial. As preparations continue for a Memorial Day dedication at the park, organizers generously wanted to permanently spell out the college’s collaboration. The pavers acknowledge Hintz and three other faculty members – Glenn R. Luse, Richard R. Motter Jr. and Franklin H. Reber Jr. – as well as more than 100 students engaged in the improvements to date, from site preparation to stone-wall construction.
Instructor Sarah S. Moore tackles the most commonly asked questions about a career path that runs the gamut of options, from probation officer to working in foster care, in the latest Penn College Q&A video. “It’s a generalist degree. You’re looking at things from a multi-prong approach. It’s interdisciplinary and students have the ability to tailor that major based on their interest,” Moore explains. “Students often minor in areas of psychology, criminal justice or emergency management. Being able to do that helps the student to earn their degree, but yet be able to focus or specialize in an area that interests them.” In a brisk, informative four minutes, learn how you can inspire change and enrich the lives of others with a career in human services and restorative justice.
When the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association called on its collegiate partners to provide virtual lessons for future culinarians in its high school program, Pennsylvania College of Technology chef/instructors answered – and high school teachers are grateful.
Designed to be used when schools must shift to remote learning, Penn College faculty developed lesson plans and produced more than a dozen videos, with support from the college’s Educational & Emerging Technologies Office.
When local sports legend Bill Byham passed away in late May 2017, his unpublished novel – offering relevant life lessons through the prism of junior-high football – could easily have died with him.
The manuscript of “Bucky Deacon’s Dilemma,” pecked out on a typewriter during summers by the pool, had languished for decades since Byham tried unsuccessfully to get it published through the comparably limited outlets of the 1980s and ’90s. The dream of sharing Bucky’s story with the world would have remained unrealized, but for a friend who fondly remembered his once-upon-a-time reading of it.
“A couple weeks before he died, Bill just wanted to write. He talked about it a lot,” said Tom Speicher, who met Byham as a Lycoming College freshman. “About two years afterward, I got the idea that publishing his book would be a great way to pay tribute to him. We need more stories like this, sharing the virtues of teamwork, conflict resolution and friendship.”
PPL has provided $13,000 toward the purchase of trainers to enhance the knowledge and skills of mechatronics students, whether they are enrolled in academic majors or are completing apprenticeship programs offered by Workforce Development at Pennsylvania College of Technology.
The grant funding enabled the college to purchase mechanical and hydraulic components to increase training-unit capacity, as well as a flammable-liquid cabinet to satisfy safety requirements.
